Switch



Feb. 3, 1942. w. HECHT ET AL 2,271,588

SWITCH Filed March 19, 1941 INVENTOR-S. 5 5

A TTORNEYS.

Patented Feb. 3, 1942 SWITCH William Hecht and Louis M. Rybold, La Crosse, Wis., assignors to Arthur Hecht, La Crosse, Wis.

Application March 19, 1941, Serial No. 384,194

1 Claim.

The device forming the subject matter of this application is an electric switch, adapted to be used primarily but not exclusively for the purpose for cutting out a battery on a motor car, to avoid conflagration and the running down of the battery.

The invention aims to provide a switch which can be constructed cheaply and assembled readily. Another object of the invention is to improve the construction of the slide member of the switch, especially as to its mounting and as to its cooperation with the switch terminals.

It is within the province of the disclosure to improve generally and to enhance the utility of devices of that type to which the present invention appertains. 7

With the above and other objects in View, which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention resides in the combination and arrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafter described and claimed, it being understood that changes in the precise embodiment of the invention herein disclosed, may be made within the scope of what is claimed,

without departing from the spirit of the invention.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 shows in plan, a switch constructed in accordance with the invention, parts being broken away;

Figs. 2 and 3 are sections taken, respectively, on the lines 2-2 and 33 of Fig. 1.

The switch herein disclosed, may be made out of any selected materials, Bakelite or an equivalent substance being suggested for parts not made of metal.

The article comprises a body B. The body B includes a box-like base I, on which a lid 2 is superposed. The lid 2 and the base I have cooperating ears 3, receiving securing elements 4 which hold the base and the lid. together, de-

tachably. The base I is supplied with apertured feet 5, for the ready mounting of the switch on a support (not shown).

The lid 2 carries combined contact terminals and conductor holders 6, spaced apart longitudinally of the base. One end of a curved spring I is attached by a securing member 8 to the bottom of the base I.

A longitudinal guideway 9 is formed in the under surface of the lid 2. The heads of the contact terminals 6 are located in the guideway 9. A slide strip it] is mounted for longitudinal reciprocation in the guideway 9. Because the guideway 9 is formed in the lid 2, the cost of manufacturing the base I may be reduced. The slide strip ID fits closely in the guideway 9, against sidewise movement, as Fig. 3 will show. The slide strip Ill, however, is thin enough so that a slight space I I exists between the top wall of the guideway 9 and the adjacent surface of the slide strip I 0. The slide strip I0 is pressed into operative relation to the heads of the contact terminals 6 by the spring I. The slide strip ID has stop projections I2 and I4.

In that part of the slide strip m which is adjacent to the lid 2, there is formed a recess I5, extended entirely across the slide strip. The slide strip It] is undercut, at the ends of the recess I5, as shown at IS.

The numeral I'I marks a resilient bridge piece, made of conducting metal. The bridge piece I! is beveled at its ends, to cooperate with the undercutends I 6 of the recess I5 in the slide Ill. The bridge piece I! is a very little longer than the recess I5. The bridge piece I! is bowed by an operator, as shown at I8, and then is slid into the recess I5, crosswise of the slide I0. Owing to the bowing of the bridge piece Il, shown at I8, and because the bridge piece is resilient, the bridge piece will be held in place, in the recess I5 of the slide I0, without resort to securing elements. The body B can be taken apart, and a new bridge piece can be slid into place without the use of tools. The bridge piece I] is adapted to have electrical engagement with the heads of the contact terminals 6. Because there is a space at II between the slide I0 and the lid 2, the bridge piece I'I, under the urge of the spring 1, will make contact with the heads of the terminals 6, as the heads or the bridge strip wear away.

The operation of the device will be clear from the drawing. When the slide I0 is moved to the right in Fig. 2 until the projection I2 engages one end of the lid 2, the piece I! will bridge the terminals 6 and close a circuit. If, however, the slide I0 is moved to the left in Fig. 2 until the projection I4 engages the corresponding end of the lid 2, the bridge piece I! will be free of one terminal 6, and the circuit will be opened.

The structural peculiarities of the article commend it to a manufacturer wishing to cut down costs, and they commend the article to a user who wishes to make renewals or repairs in a quick and convenient way.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is: I

An-electrical switch comprising a base, a lid detachably secured to the base and having a bridge being at least as long as the space between the terminals, and spring means in the body and engaging the slide to maintain contact between the bridge and the conductor holding 5 means.

WILLIAM HECHT. LOUIS M. RYBOLD. 

